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Monday, August 06, 2012

Fourteen Indicted for Trafficking Narcotics Received from Mexico and Laundering Drug Proceeds

$1.6
Million and Multiple Kilos of Cocaine and Crystal Methamphetamine Seized During
Course of Year-Long Investigation

ATLANTA—Fourteen defendants have been
indicted for drug trafficking and money laundering crimes after a multi-agency
investigation, announced United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, and the
David G. Wilhelm Organized Crime Drug Enforcement (OCDETF) Strike Force. On
July 25, 2012, a federal grand jury returned two indictments charging a total
of 14 defendants. The indictments were unsealed on Wednesday, August 1, 2012,
in conjunction with a sweep aimed at arresting those charged. Today, United
States Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman conducted a detention hearing for one
group of defendants and ordered that each defendant be detained.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian
Yates said of the takedown and the case, “This office and the Wilhelm Strike
Force target the most significant drug trafficking organizations in the
district with the goal of reducing drug trafficking not only in the state of
Georgia but the other parts of the country that these organizations touch. The
indictment of these 14 defendants is a step toward making Atlanta a safer
community.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Harry S.
Sommers said, “This investigation is a true example of the multi-agency Strike
Force concept working as it was designed and demonstrates the effectiveness of
working together to achieve the ultimate goal of bringing the members of a
major drug trafficking organization operating in the Atlanta area to justice.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in
Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “The Southeastern region of the U.S.
and the metropolitan Atlanta area in particular continue to serve as a
destination and distribution point for the international based drug trafficking
organizations. The FBI continues to dedicate numerous investigative resources
to the Wilhelm Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force in an effort to
aggressively pursue these criminal enterprises who prey on our communities and
to identify, apprehend, prosecute, and dismantle them so that they are no
longer a threat.”

“IRS-Criminal Investigation is proud to
be an integral part of the David G. Wilhelm OCDETF Strike Force,” stated Donald
B. Yaden, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office of the Internal
Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. “It is our goal as financial
investigators to assist our law enforcement partners in dismantling drug
trafficking organizations at every level.”

“The Wilhem Strike Force provides for a
highly resourced, team-centered approach that allows participating agencies to
focus on the large-scale, transnational criminal organizations responsible for
moving commercial quantities of narcotics across the United States,” said Brock
D. Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Atlanta. “This case is a prime example of how effective federal law enforcement
agencies can be when we work together to share our investigative expertise,
tools and experience.”

“Firearms are a tool of the trade that
enable drug traffickers to perpetuate their criminal activity. ATF works with
its law enforcement partners at every level to sever the linkage between guns
and drug organizations,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Scott Sweetow. “This
indictment reiterates our combined dedication to stamping out violent criminals
and drug traffickers through aggressive federal investigations and
prosecutions.”

According to United States Attorney
Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: In January 2011,
federal law enforcement officers began investigating a Mexican cocaine and
marijuana drug trafficking organization operating in the metro Atlanta area.
The organization allegedly used several distributors, brokers, and couriers to
distribute wholesale quantities of cocaine and marijuana onto the streets of
Atlanta and elsewhere, including defendants Nicholas Jackson and his
“right-hand-man” Darren Dunlap. During the course of the investigation,
approximately eight kilograms of cocaine, 75.6 kilograms of marijuana, and
$800,000 in cash were seized.

As a result of this investigation, the
following individuals were charged with offenses including conspiracy to
traffic cocaine and marijuana and launder drug money:

Defendant Darren Dunlap has not yet been
arrested and remains at large. Anyone with information about his whereabouts
should contact the U.S. Marshals Service 24-hour number 1-877-WANTED2
(1-877-926-8332) or the DEA Atlanta Field Division at 404-893-7000.

With regard to the second indictment,
during the investigation of the group charged in the first indictment, OCDETF
agents and prosecutors began to follow evidence of a related Mexican crystal
methamphetamine drug trafficking criminal organization also operating in the
metro Atlanta area. The following individuals were charged with offenses
including conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and launder drug money:

■Ivan Najera-Suazo, 30, of Mexico;

■Domingo Najera-Perez, 60, of Mableton,
Georgia;

■Rogelio Benetiz, a/k/a “Roy,” 26, place
of residence unknown;

■Alejandro Santana, 45, of Mableton,
Georgia; and

■Luis Santabanas, a/k/a “Neco,” age
unknown, of Austell, Georgia.

A detention hearing for the defendants
arrested in this case will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 8, 2012,
before United States Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman.

Defendants Ivan Najera-Suazo and
Alejandro Santana have not yet been arrested and are believed to be in Mexico.
Anyone with information about their whereabouts should contact U.S. Marshals
Service 24-hour number 1-877-WANTED2 (1-877-926-8332) or the DEA Atlanta Field
Division at 404-893-7000.

The investigation and prosecution of
this case is a coordinated effort through the David G. Wilhelm OCDETF Strike
Force, which is composed of special agents of the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Internal
Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI); the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and the United States
Marshals Service (USMS), working with other state and local law enforcement
agencies.

Assistant United States Attorney Skye
Davis is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that
the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of
the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta
recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the
following website: www.justthinktwice.com.

For further information please contact
the U.S. Attorney’s Public Information Office at USAGAN.Pressemails@usdoj.gov
or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is
www.justice.gov/usao/gan.